Charter33

Just finished the task of fitting the internal cladding.

I'm very pleased with the result and have made the decision to ignore the Admiral's suggestion to paint the walls and to stick with sealing it all with clear matt varnish to enhance the appearance of the timber. Although a time consuming task the savings made were considerable. Using recycled wood the total cost for covering all the walls and ceiling was a little over £25 for 2 kg of galvanized nails, spotted at a reduced price in a local builders merchant, and two packs of sanding discs for my rotary sander. Next job is fitting the pine skirting boards before varnishing can begin.
As can be seen in the photos the I've also completed the the 'first fix" for the electrics. Once the sockets and switches are in place the electrician will complete the power supply connections and test it all.
Not much longer before the pleasurable task of actually fitting out the workshop and finally moving in can happen 😆
Good to see the neighbours taking a keen interest the to project too......

Cheers,
Graham

Just finished the task of fitting the internal cladding.

I'm very pleased with the result and have made the decision to ignore the Admiral's suggestion to paint the walls and to stick with sealing it all with clear matt varnish to enhance the appearance of the timber. Although a time consuming task the savings made were considerable. Using recycled wood the total cost for covering all the walls and ceiling was a little over £25 for 2 kg of galvanized nails, spotted at a reduced price in a local builders merchant, and two packs of sanding discs for my rotary sander. Next job is fitting the pine skirting boards before varnishing can begin.
As can be seen in the photos the I've also completed the the 'first fix" for the electrics. Once the sockets and switches are in place the electrician will complete the power supply connections and test it all.
Not much longer before the pleasurable task of actually fitting out the workshop and finally moving in can happen 😆
Good to see the neighbours taking a keen interest the to project too......

Cheers,
Graham

Progress over the last couple of weeks, finished the first planking.  😁
 
The bulk of the planking was very straightforward, nothing to add to the other logs on here or Chris's instructions.  The bluff bow was a little tricky to get the curves correct so that the planks lay flat on the bulkheads, but that was just a case of patiently doing one or two per session and getting the curves as tight as I could without breaking the ends off - and yes I did break a couple...  I found a really useful curve was the end of the steel rule I use, I also (re)learnt how good a conductor of heat steel is! 🙄😆 embarrassed the number of time I went, "now I need to measure this next plank - ouch the rule is hot!"
 
One the plus side I did manage to use my new toy (proportional dividers) for measuring plank widths without drawing blood. 😉  I like old things like this, so got an old pair from eBay, these are c.1950s West Germany (HAFF brand).  It is no quicker, or more precise than using a card tick strip and radial fan of Chuck's method of planking, but I enjoy both ways of shaping planks, so happy with the results.
 
Thanks to those following along and the likes.

Thank you James
My Triton has had to be put on hold unfortunately. A couple of weeks after my recovery from the major medical issue I mentioned, the Admiral was diagnosed with a significant issue that turned life upside down and our priorities were changed. Happily, after a couple of years of treatment, all is good. 
Then we were hit with the pandemic, work became part-time then retirement arrived.
I do intend to get back to my Triton build once I've completed my  HMS Victory model, and the workshop to build it in!
Never give up, and make the best of every day.
Cheers,
Graham

Now I am up to date. I actually enjoy doing the deck planking. It's pretty straight forward and the results are very tangible and for the most part they look good. I did get lost a bit with the pattern on the port side. I may have moved too fast. At the fore end there are a lot of holes that need to be planked around. You also have to extend the planking over the access area created by the skid beam assembly.

It might be hard to explain, but once I have 5 rows of planking done, it is easy to place the next row. From a joint, I just count over 5 planks because that is the number of rows before a joint is in the same location. But with all the cutting and trimming on the fore deck, there isn't an easy ability to see natural planking breaks. I actually had to wait until the aft decking was 'fleshed out' more and then started laying planks aft to fore on the port side.

So far, cutting out access to the bitt holes, mast holes and access hatches has been straight forward.

I am coming up to the edges and will have to address how to terminate planking against the walls. I will take a look at the books I have and search for pics of live deck shots.

I'll post when I have completed the planking and decide whether I will add wood fill with a bit of stain to it as I did to the 2 lower decks.
I attached 2 pics from my previous work on the lower deck. I have that easy to sand wood filler that I added a bit of Jacobean stain to. It spreads on very easily and dries quickly. While it will create a lot of dust, once sanded, it provides a natural caulking look and fills in any gaps from my installation pitfalls. 

Hi Graham, I’ve been following your Victory and 1:1 scale workshop builds, didn’t know you had this beauty on the go.  

I'm sorry to read of your family health challenges. Hopefully a straight path for both you and your wife ahead now.

Thank you James
My Triton has had to be put on hold unfortunately. A couple of weeks after my recovery from the major medical issue I mentioned, the Admiral was diagnosed with a significant issue that turned life upside down and our priorities were changed. Happily, after a couple of years of treatment, all is good. 
Then we were hit with the pandemic, work became part-time then retirement arrived.
I do intend to get back to my Triton build once I've completed my  HMS Victory model, and the workshop to build it in!
Never give up, and make the best of every day.
Cheers,
Graham

Thank you James
My Triton has had to be put on hold unfortunately. A couple of weeks after my recovery from the major medical issue I mentioned, the Admiral was diagnosed with a significant issue that turned life upside down and our priorities were changed. Happily, after a couple of years of treatment, all is good. 
Then we were hit with the pandemic, work became part-time then retirement arrived.
I do intend to get back to my Triton build once I've completed my  HMS Victory model, and the workshop to build it in!
Never give up, and make the best of every day.
Cheers,
Graham

this was an impressive very inspiring log to look at thank you for sharing 

I like it a lot Greg. I´m eagerly waiting for your paint scheme to work out. I never ventured into Warhammer or similar, but last week found this one and felt, I NEED IT.



Cheers Rob

Having given much thought to the process of constructing the windows, I have gone back to the Bob Hunt methodology and am quite pleased with the result.
 

 
I was just going to say that I had to give some thought to how I would finish the window frames. Then I realized I glued the plexiglass to the back of the frame. Either I'm going to leave the frames white, or go back and reconstruct this one, and before adding the glass on all of them, prime and paint some color approximating the natural Basswood.
 
Practice makes perfect. Here are the steps that got me to the end result.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

Now have the bulwarks in place and the deck. Onto the difficult part - the planking and the bottom of the hull. 
Once I have sanded and shaped the stern and bow bulwarks I think I will glue and pin the bottom of the hull to the bulwarks having first softened it in hot water. Is there a risk of shrinkage as it dries or tearing if I pin it?

For me, as a Londoner a Thames Barge is a special part of our river heritage. The Will Everard is still on the river albeit a pleasure boat now. I am going to build this kit as a working boat pre-engine as far as I can identify. I'll adopt the grey and white livery that I can see from post cards and other builds on this site i.e. pre-P&O green as used in the kit.
So, I'm hoping to do this one justice although it's only my second wooden boat kit. My first was the Billings Marie-Jeanne - so I am under no illusion about the quality of instructions!!
 
So, any hints, tips and advice are welcome!
 

i built this kit in the early 90s in the days before laser cutting (was die cut part way through the old billings soft ply used back then)- she went to my step mother. 
 
recently i saw an unopened kit from 20 years ago on a popular auction site at more or less the same price i paid over 30 years ago - hard to let that one  pass so i didn't😁- however lord alone knows when i will get onto it!
 
Keith

I've had a few hours each day, so I read up on my manuals double check my saved video logs to get an idea of what I'm facing next.
 
I have finally finished all the cannons on the upper deck. Now I only rigged the 10 that will show through the quarter deck and even then, I didn't add the tackles directly behind each cannon. As I have been reading (and watching) ahead, it is sadly apparent that very little will be seen by admirers. Especially if the various life boats are stacked on the open quarter deck!
 
That being said, it is VERY GOOD practice for work that will be visible on the next deck.
 
I have to say, some of the builders who actually rigged all 30 cannons, that is some dedication! 
 
The next step was adding the screen to the Admiral's quarters. Part #389. You'll have to do some real eyeball gymnastics to see this, but hey, I added so many photo etch enhancements to my Titanic model that will NEVER be seen!!!! So why stop now?
 
 

 
 
I had to remove about 1-2mm off each side so that it fits and I had to straighten out the base to fit the deck. I placed the camber beam just behind the screen to get the right height and then sanded down the top so that it will fit.
 
Once done, I added a strip of wood for the back of the screen to hold it in place. That and the camber beam supports should hold it very tight.

 
After, I squared off the support columns. I have seen others create jigs to help with this. I ended up shaving one side and then slowly working the other 4 sides. The hard part was that I was able to use an exacto knife to shave away, but it was very scary trying to even it out towards my fingers.
 
I definitely need to create something for the rest of them!

In addition, the manual wants me to create another set of stairs....if you go back, you can see what a terrible job I did on the first three. Well....terrible is just too kind! You can see the 'fun house' stairs in some of these pics!
 
I tried to go slower. I sanded the treads a bit to help fit into the side rails. I was able to get 4 or 5 treads in but things started going south so I clamped it off and let it dry. A bit later I added the remaining treads. I can see now after the fact that one of the things I'll need to do is make sure the treads are the same 'depth' in the side rails. But this one is much straighter.....sort of.
 

 
I had a bit of confusion when installing the pillars in front of the screen. I thought they were flush against the screen, but the plans show they are out a bit...which I did.

 
Yeah, there's one of those crazy stairs!!!!
 
I also had to build the elm tree pump and the steam trunk assembly.
 
For the elm tree pump, I added a few pieces of walnut to the photo etch handle to make it look like real wood. As if anyone will see it!!! My end result is way out of scale, but I like it!
 

 
Not sure what the steam trunk is...but I just taped it together and added white glue to the inside. I'll sand it when I go to put it wherever it goes!

 
Finally, I  added to the stanchions for the hatch coamings. I blackened them and then drilled out the holes a bit to make sure the life lines would fit. I added too much CA glue to keep the stanchions in place...going to have to watch that up topside!!!
 
I was a bit nervous putting the final rigging for the life lines together, but they actually went very well! I threaded 2 stanchions to each line and tied a knot in end in case I couldn't finish the work. Drilled holes for the stanchions and then tied them off and added a bit of CA glue. I am using a very thin drill bit and broke one trying to remove it, you have to be very careful your hole is 'clear' before pulling out a bit that is almost the thickness of a hair!
 
They look very nice!

 
The stairs actually look pretty good from this angle! Also, I now wish I had stained the walnut instead of leaving it raw. Although the stain wouldn't apply to anywhere I have glue (which is a lot on the stairs). I only say that after applying stain to the Admiral Screen and like the richness of it.

 
This one has to wait for a set of columns that will act as stanchions. 

 
Pretty exciting stuff!!!


 
 

Building in earnest has begun.  I won't do a step-by-step log, as there really is no point in duplicating Chris's' superb instructions that come with the kit.  Beside there are already a few logs for the Adder that go through things in much detail.  I'll just highlight the things I found interesting or difficult, or both!
 
The initial assembly of false keel and bulkheads was very straight forward, some of the slots were a bit tight, but nothing a quick rub over with sandpaper didn't fix in a moment.  As with my other builds a lucky penny was glued onto the false lower deck; dated the year of the Admiral and me tying the knot - explains the knurled old looking coin that wouldn't look out of place in an archaeology dig! 😆
 
Fairing of bulkheads all went without major drama, and I only broke one this time! Shout out to Dan @DB789 in his Adder log who brought attention to the length of the false deck needing a trim before gluing anything permanently.
 
First planking has started, fairly slow as this bluff bowed beastie needs a fair bit of measuring, trimming and pre-bending to get the planks to lie flat on the bulkheads.  Going okay so far, but being patient, so doing some other assemblies from later in the instructions to keep the momentum up, will show those later.
 
Thanks for looking in.

I haven't forgotten about you guys or my 'precious'!!!!
 
Just hard to spend time in the basement when the sun is still shinning!
 
That being said, I have been plugging away when I have some free time or when it rains.
I had ordered different rope for the main breech lines from Rope of Scale. I really like the tighter look of the rope as opposed to what is supplied with the kit. 
 
I had added breech rings to the 10 cannons that will be visible. Learning to rig all of the ropes has been a huge learning curve. My fingers are just so fat and no matter what I do, they aren't as steady as they used to be!
 
I also wanted to try and match in miniature what a rigged cannon should be. I did try to buy double blocks, they they turned out to be too small and I abandoned using them on this deck. I may hunt for blocks that are a bit larger for the upper decks...
 
In addition, there is process or steps that should be followed in a certain order to make these look good. I am still learning them too. Right now, it's taking me an hour to rig just one cannon. 
 
Currently:
I thread the breach rope through the ring on the cannon and try to leave enough on either side to allow to be attached to bulkhead wall. I also had to leave enough to tie a ring to each end so that I could attach them to the rings installed in bulkheads. I have given up on creating hooks for this deck, but I will revisit that too.
 
Each cannon also have two tackles to run the gun in and out and a third for the back of the cannon. 
 
These too are tough. Very tiny parts and very fiddly. 
 
Attaching a connection ring to one block which is the stand alone block close to the bulkhead
Attaching a connection ring and the line that runs through both blocks that will attach to base of cannon.
 
It's hard to keep the blocks in a good position to tie off the rings and thread the rigging in the blocks.
 
Still learning and my solace is that the cannons will be hidden from direct view.
They are giving me practice for the upper decks and practice for the final task of rigging the boat!!!
 
So I will continue to plug along.
 
My boat will be coming out of the water shortly and once I winterize her and wrap her up....my time will be to VICTORY!!!!
 
See you soon!
Chris

Good evening, we are getting close to the finish line!
 
Rope hanks and the crew added!  The figures from Vanguard @chris watton are just great, I only wish my shaky hands could do them justice, a miniature figure painter I'm not!  But I'm happy with the overall look from normal viewing distance, macro is so cruel! 😬
 
This was a delicate process (and painful for some of the crew), as I performed surgery on a few of them to re-pose them for my take on "gunnery practice" and drilled out a few hands for the Carronade training tackles.  Think they add to the impression of a busy deck, but the real Trial must have been very crowded as this motley bunch are only about a quarter of her complement.
 
Only the port main yard counter brace to add (I dare not add it before I had got the crew on board for fear of snagging it as I reached in to place them.)  Then the flag & pennant to make and add with their halyards.  Then a final clean up and touch up with matt varnish where recent glue added.
 
Thanks you all for the like and comments.

Thank you all for the likes and @jpalmer1970 @Oboship @Ronald-V @Charter33 @Nipper @Craigie65 @Dave_E @BrochBoating @Danstream for your kind words.
 
More work on the main sail, laced it to the gaff, amazing the number of times the lacing needed tightening before it seemed to grip the sail to the gaff right.  Also added inhaul and outhaul tackles on the boom, I had to dip in and out of many reference books to decide on how these were going to be done.  Also added brails and tackles for these, again, the variation in the sources for these is amazing, I just went with what was achievable with my skills and what would look okay against the sail.  There has also been plenty of shaping of all the sails using the wire in the edges and plenty of time online looking for how gaff sails look for real (one of the best sources I found was Gaff Rig World, a group on Facebook.)  I have done my best to make the sail bend naturally, as though filled with wind and allowing some deflection in profile caused by the boom lifts.  It is okay, not entirely happy, but there is NO way I am redoing all that lot! 😆  Good lessons learned to be applied to the next build...
 
Finishing touches to be done are the addition of Reef tackle, pendants and such.  Then a whole load of rope hanks are required, a tidy / touch-up, varnish session, then all that remains is the motley crew and flags.
 
Thanks again for following along.

I am making and installing my ledgers, lodging and hanging knees beginning at the bow and working aft.
I may need to install one upper deck beam to secure my bowsprit step.
Then as I work further there will be riding bits, capstans, grating and coamings and mast partners.
 
For something different to look at, I completed my gifts and I've decided to give them to my family members at our Thanksgiving dinner next month (3 weeks), not waiting for Christmas. The wood block is a cell phone amplifier for my son, the dog for my daughter, cat for my daughter-in-law and butterfly for my wife.
Hope the like them.

I have been away. Trips and such, Faroe Islands!!! Iceland. But now back to the Trabaccola. 
It ain't easy - a stunning kit with incredible precision but in no way a beginners voyage. Almost all frames are up and then you build the interior...I am determined in spite of it seeming very difficult. The kit quality continues to be really impressive in every way. It is just bloody complicated to build! I have probably spent more time reading the instructions than just getting on with it. Don Robinson's log remains a key reference. Hopefully my outcome will be just, or nearly as good...Time will tell.

Simply awe inspiring! Terrific result...

Simply awe inspiring! Terrific result...

Simply awe inspiring! Terrific result...